Floyd Ingram examines of several headstones found at a Diamond Chain construction site on May 18, 1967. The area was part of the former Greenlawn Cemetery.(Photo: Bob Doeppers/Indianapolis News)

It’s not uncommon during excavation for new construction in Indianapolis that one might unearth artifacts, such as bottles, blackboards, even safes. The discovery of a coffin in 1986 might have been a shock to some, but for those who were acquainted with the history of the area, it was to be anticipated.

While digging to install a fiber-optics communications network, workers uncovered a cast-iron coffin. The mechanical scoop accidentally peeled back the top of the coffin like a sardine can, revealing “a really quite well preserved” body of an adult man inside, noted Charles W. Green, then-chief investigator for the Marion County coroner’s office.

News reports said the corpse was dressed in a blue, brass-buttoned military-type uniform and cap, and Green estimated the body dated back “probably somewhere around the Civil War.”

The construction site, in the area of Kentucky Avenue and Henry Street on the near west side, was the former location of Greenlawn Cemetery, which was sometimes referenced as Green Lawn Cemetery. It was the city’s first public cemetery, built in the 1820s.

The 7-acre cemetery stretched between the White River and Kentucky Avenue and north to about South Street and contained the remains of pioneers as well as Union and Confederate soldiers.

Unfortunately, the well-preserved corpse disintegrated within hours after it was unearthed. Charles Green also noted that what appeared to be a blue military uniform worn was actually blue-colored iron, which had fallen on the body when the top of the iron casket was sheared by the bulldozer.

The body was in fact shrouded in white muslin, a common practice for burying people who had died of infectious diseases. The corpse was reburied at Crown Hill.

The 1986 discovery wasn’t the first time human remains or artifacts had been unearthed — although a complete corpse was quite a discovery. Artifacts had been unearthed during various stages of Greenlawn's closure. When the Diamond Chain production facility was built in 1917, bone fragments, an intact human leg bone and headstones were unearthed.

Why move a cemetery?

Overcrowding and flooding from the nearby White River forced the relocation of 1,100 pioneer graves to Crown Hill Cemetery before the turn of the 20th century. Aside from the grisly task of moving the bodies, families found that graves had been disturbed, valuables taken and, in many instances, corpses stolen. It was an era when grave robbing and body snatching was a profitable and gruesome business venture.

When Gov. James Whitcomb was exhumed from Greenlawn in 1892, the metal casket was opened for inspection by the family. Whitcomb, who died 40 years earlier, was in remarkable condition. So much so that the family invited friends to view the remains before being interred at Crown Hill.

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About 1,200 Union soldiers who died in local camps and hospitals were moved to the national cemetery section of Crown Hill. This was done in phases, as the city sold off parcels of Greenlawn to various interests; one parcel was kept as a city park, while another was used as the city dog pound.

With each construction project, artifacts and bones were unearthed, delaying progress.

A small section of Greenlawn was bought in 1907 by the Vandalia Railroad. The bodies were removed and the ground was added to the site of the company’s shop and roundhouse.

In what could be considered an extreme reversal of land usage, several acres of the former cemetery were converted into a 25,000-seat baseball stadium. And naturally, during the course of construction, crumbled tombstones and bones were unearthed.

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In 1917, the 3 year-old Federal League Park was slated for demolition. The park was built on the site of the former Greenlawn Cemetery.(Photo: Indianapolis News)

In 1914, the newly formed Federal League baseball team, the Indianapolis Hoosiers, moved into their new home, called Federal League Park. The Hoosiers won the Federal League pennant in 1913 and 1914. This "outlaw" league competed against the National and American league teams until it folded in 1915. The ballpark closed in 1916 to make room for freight yards.

In 1931, the federal government began the process of moving the bodies of more than 1,600 Confederate prisoners who died at Camp Morton, the prisoner-of-war camp. Originally buried at Greenlawn, they were moved to the Confederate Plot of Crown Hill.

Once referred to as “unknowns,” the Confederate remains were put in 25 wooden boxes and buried in a mass grave at Crown Hill. Steve Staletovich spearheaded an effort in 1991 to persuade the Department of Veterans Affairs to approve and fund a new monument consisting of 10 large memorial stones with all 1,616 names listed.

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Kathi Ricketts, a Civil War re-enactor from the 33rd Virginia Voluntary Company, lays a flower on a tombstone at the Confederate Mount during the Memorial Day ceremonies on May 28, 2012, at Crown HIll Cemetery in Indianapolis.(Photo: Matt Kryger/IndyStar file photo)

Men demonstrate use of the parallel bars at Normal College in the early 1900s (in what is now the beer garden at the Athenaeum). Normal College of the American Gymnastics Union was the collegiate training school of the North American Turnerbund. IUPUI

Two locomotives bearing the name of The News are crashed head-on in this file photo from October 30, 1908. WeÕre not sure why they were doing this; perhaps it was a publicity stunt sponsored by the newspaper at which it hoped to sell newspapers or subscriptions. STAR/NEWS PHOTOGRAPHERS

A busy thoroughfare today, Illinois Street was bustling just after the turn of the century, too. This 1905 view is looking south toward Union Station (background) from the Washington Street intersection. The Grand Hotel is the light-colored building on the southeast corner of Ilinois and Maryland, one street south of Washington Street. The Claypool Hotel, built in 1903 at Washington and Illinois Streets, is at right in the foreground. Indianapolis News

he building on the southeast corner of Meridian Street and Monument Circle (right), stood from 1860 until 1924, when it was replaced by the building that is now home to the Indianapolis Power and Light Co. (IPALCO). This 1905 photograph shows a sign above the doorway (lower right) announcing the building "Will be occupied by Western Union Telegraph about Nov. 15th." The building's first tenant, in 1860, was The Indianapolis Journal, followed by other printing and publishing companies until Western Union moved in. The building next to it, constructed in 1879, was the Rhodius Building (left), owned by Mrs. Maria Rhodius. At the time of this photo, it was the Circle Park Hotel and featured a popular restaurant and bar with a floor of inlaid silver coins. Later, it was the Kingston Hotel. The building next door (not shown) was torn down in 1916 to make way for the Circle Theatre, today the premier feature of the Circle's southeast quadrant. Indianapolis News

The Claypool Hotel was built in 1903 on the northwest corner of Washington and Illinois Streets, on the site of the old Bates House, where President Abraham Lincoln addressed a crowd in 1861. Many political decisions were made in the hotelÕs smoked-filled rooms. It was razed in 1969. Indianapolis News

The Indiana Statehouse from the top of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in 1908. The round building to the right is the Cyclorama, a 42-foot tall, 358-foot wide painting depicting the Civil War Battle of Atlanta. Indianapolis Star

Star Bloomer girls base ball club 627 W. Michigan St. Indianapolis, Ind. circa 1905. "Bloomer Girls" took to the field on barnstorming tours. They werenÕt in a league, and teams didnÕt play each other, but rather challenged semi-pro men's teams such as the Indianapolis Reserves, Indianapolis Grays and amateur company teams. The teams were considered a novelty act and in some instances had men dressed as women. Library of Congress photo

Harry Houdini and unidentified man pose before advertising posters in Indianapolis, Indiana "Houdini was in Indianapolis from December 29, 1907 to January 4, 1908. Time enough to enjoy his own image presented between an advertisement for The Terre Haute (Ind.) Brewing Co. and one for The Famous Pluto Spring." Library of Congress

A scene from the wreckage of the train carrying the Purdue University football team in 1903. The team occupied the first car, resulting in the deaths of 13 players as well as an assistant coach and trainer. The second car (right) jumped the track and went down an embankment. Indianapolis News

Massive engines were all in a dayÕs work at the Beech Grove train shops near the start of the century. The rail yard, which once employed about 5,000, began in 1908 as shops for the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railway. Indianapolis News

This was the Knights of Pythias building circa 1906 and newly constructed. That's Pennsylviania Street on the left and Massachusetts Ave. on the right. The building's "flatiron" design was one of several in Indianapolis at the time. The "K of P" building was torn down in 1967 and this section of Massachusetts was eliminated so that the entire block could be used for the new Indiana National bank tower (later to become Regions Bank). Detroit Publishing/Library of Congress

This 1903 photo shows the building at the corner of Market on the northeast quadrant of Monument Circle housed Vories's Business College, Inter State Life Assurance Company and Marion Trust Company. Indianapolis News

President Theodore Roosevelt addresses an Indianapolis crowd gathered for the 1907 dedication of the Lawton Monument at the old Marion County Courthouse. Carl Bretzman collection/Indiana Historical Society

Carl Fisher in 1909. Fisher made and lost several multimillion-dollar fortunes throughout his life. In Indiana, he's best remembered for founding the Indianapolis 500 race. He's also remembered as the builder Miami Beach, the coast-to-coast Lincoln Highway and the Dixie Highway from Chicago to Miami. The Library of Congress, The Library of Congress, George

Lewis Strang surveys the 1909 layout of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Strang became the first entrant in the Indianapolis 500 on Oct. 22, 1910, which was significant because that determined the starting lineup for the inaugural race. Indianapolis Motor Speedway photo

The rededication ceremony of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Dec 17, 1909. A silver gold-plated brick was chained and cemented in its place at the start finish line in front of the judges stand. Gov. Thomas R. Marshall had the honor of placing the brick in place. file, Indianapolis Star